Online lottery tickets could go on sale soonMinnesota would be the first state in the country to offer the games online. Opponents are reacted with alarm, saying the online games aren't legal under the state constitutional amendment that authorized the lottery in 1988.

Resurrecting an ancient creatureScientists in Oklahoma have managed to hatch the eggs of a creature that lived in South Center Lake hundreds of years ago.The eggs belong to a tiny shrimp-like animal called a water flea.

Weather wimps?Monday morning's breathtaking -- and much ballyhooed -- polar vortex didn't break any records, and ranked 55th on the coldest-day list for the Lower 48, pretty much a case of "weather meh."

'Polar vortex' may have cost economy about $5BHunkering down at home rather than going to work, canceling thousands of flights and repairing burst pipes from the Midwest to the Southeast has its price. By one estimate, about $5 billion.

Northern lights: Were we robbed?After meteorologists predicted a spectacular northern lights display, many Minnesotans pried themselves off their couches last night and headed out to check it out. But the reports we're seeing from social media are that clouds got in the way.

Hospitals ask flu-stricken visitors to stay awayNew restrictions on potential visitors who think they might have the flu or have been in close contact with someone who is sick are a permanent change that will likely occur each season, and will last until flu is no longer considered a significant threat.

Is there a doctor in the house?Tens of thousands of new patients are expected to flood hospitals in Minnesota over the next decade Meanwhile, close to half of the state's physicians will be old enough to retire within a decade.

Plan to ship oil across Lake Superior hits snagThe Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has rejected an application by Calumet Specialty Products to repair a loading dock in Superior, Wis., where the company had proposed loading oil on to ships that would travel to eastern refineries.

Record sentence for sex traffickerThe sentence of Otis Washington, the longest imposed on a sex-trafficking defendant in state history, sends a message, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said.